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A Short History of Outsourcing

Outsourcing, is not as modern as many think. It goes way back to the time where specialised skilled men are hired contractual to finish a project. In its early versions, outsourcing wasn’t called outsourcing itself. It wasn’t a fully-formed business model like it is today, like offered SEO services worldwide or website development.

The Beginning

When people started to form villages, they consequently needed to produce everything that the village needs – water, food, shelter, etc. These basic needs weren’t quite met, and so neighbouring villages helped each other in order to survive. This is the trade and barter economy, but it is also the first considered form of modern-day outsourcing.

While the ancient practice was considered a trade off, it also provided the roots in order for outsourcing to really come into fruition. Consider it as the act that planted the seed. Fast forward to the start of the early civilization, the barter economy was stronger than ever. Neighbouring villages, cities, even nations trade with each other through land and sea.

The Early 19th Century

The industrialization of the new world paved the way for highly complicated skill sets to be learned. The world started to be more crowded than ever, and ancient structures and building were all the rage. The construction industry boomed like never before. Labour is a big part of the new way of living, and companies looked for people with specialised skill sets in order to finish a certain project. For example, plumbers aren’t part of a manual labor construction company back then, but companies outsource plumbing labor and add it to their costs.

The 20th Century

Fast forward to the late 20th century. This is the time when the world really took off in terms of civilisation and modernity. The first outsourcing companies were recorded to have been built upon this era. Outsourcing companies back then deal with getting companies in their employ and acting like middlemen towards the company and the labor people.

Modern Times

Today, outsourcing connotes technology-based solutions, like search engine optimization. For example, a SEO company in Turkey can outsource their web design employees from around the world, and still present a rounded service to their clients.